News from Taiwan

Chapter 77 The Heartless Man
After getting out of the car, Jiang Guier arrogantly raised her chin. She didn't want Shen Huaizhou to lead her and walked ahead by herself on the newly paved asphalt road in the old neighborhood. Shen Huaizhou followed beside her, deliberately slowing his pace to match her steps.

Jiang Guier hadn't been here for a long time. She had lived here briefly during her childhood, and in her memory, it was a time when the whole family rarely lived together. Later, her grandmother went back to the countryside and would only come over occasionally for a short stay. She also moved away as her mother's business continued to grow.

This is an old residential area built in Shanghai in the 80s. Now it looks like a remnant of the city's rapid development, carrying the weight of time and stories. Downstairs in the renovated apartment buildings, groups of elderly people sit chatting and exchanging pleasantries. Their topics are lively yet trivial, revolving around: where someone's child works, whose child is crying, whose dog or cat is the most mischievous, whose vegetables are the best, and so on.

These everyday details are rarely seen in big cities: the sounds of people, the wind, and the rustling of leaves. Outside, you can see tall buildings of the city, but in this space, you can feel the warmth and life of human interaction.

Jiang Guier walked slowly, her gaze sweeping over the familiar and unfamiliar places. A slight feeling stirred in her heart. She hadn't been back for many years, and she could hardly remember whether the familiar faces from her childhood were still there. But the familiar atmosphere still made her feel happy.

She couldn't help but think of her current home, located in the most bustling area of ​​Shanghai, overlooking the Huangpu River, yet the neighbors were strangers to each other, and the doors were always closed. People in the city are always busy making a living and chasing fame and fortune, rarely having the leisure to stop and care for each other.

"What are you thinking about?" Shen Huaizhou's deep voice sounded beside her, interrupting her thoughts.

Jiang Guier gently shook her head, "It's nothing, it's just that I haven't seen this kind of neighborly interaction in a long time, so I feel a little nostalgic and sentimental."

"The high cost of living nowadays is suffocating young people, and the first thing they lose is their enthusiasm for chatting with others."

“Yes, as the internet says: energetic old people and lifeless young people.” Jiang Gui’er stuck out her tongue.

Shen Huaizhou added, "There's no way around it. The elderly have money, leisure time, and retirement pensions, while almost every young person is burdened with mortgages, car loans, and credit loans. Every day they wake up, all they have to do is pay off debts. They really have no interest in experiencing life; they're content as long as they can get by." His words carried a hint of self-deprecation.

Jiang Guier turned to look at him, a hint of coldness in her expression. "Was mortgaging your studio a visionary move or a desperate gamble?"

Seeing that Jiang Guier was being serious again, Shen Huaizhou shrugged. "It's a choice."

Upon hearing this answer, Jiang Guier glared at him, "You always have your reasons."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the Party and Mass Service Center in the community. Jiang Guier spotted the familiar yet unfamiliar person in the crowd at a glance.

Her grandfather, who lived in seclusion, was wearing reading glasses and bending over to sort through the old clothes donated by the community. He was wearing a simple light blue cotton shirt, his hair was neatly combed, he was a little thin, and his brows were humble. In just a short while, more or less the people who passed by him would greet him, and he would smile and chat with them.

From the moment she learned that he was her great-grandfather, Jiang Guier read through many news articles on the community's official WeChat account and saw many reports about him. For more than ten years, he has long been recognized as a public welfare leader in the community, a warm-hearted old man praised by everyone, rooted in the community and warming the neighborhood.

This is the kind of person who abandoned his wife and children; it's utterly ridiculous.

Jiang Guier watched him from afar, her mind drifting back to her childhood. When her great-grandmother still lived there, this man would always come to visit as a neighbor, bringing food and flowers, and chatting with her. As a child, she thought he was a good person, but now she realized he was just a hypocrite.

Did he think that by staying by her side he could make up for his past mistakes? Did he think that his brief act of kindness towards his great-grandmother could erase the hurt he had caused?
It's just self-pity!
He owes his great-grandmother and maternal grandmother so much; how could he possibly turn the page so easily?

Wu Wenhao seemed to sense the gaze behind him and slowly turned around. He saw the two people standing side by side and recognized Jiang Guier at a glance. Almost instantly, he understood why she had come. "Guier, what brings you here?"

"Let me ask you, what should I call you?" Jiang Guier cut to the chase and threw out the question directly. "You already know."

Wu Wenhao's expression showed hurt, expectation, and regret. He began to explain responsibly, "Going to Taiwan back then was never my own choice, nor was it a deliberate abandonment of my family." His voice was soft but deep. "During that time, the situation was turbulent and the cross-strait relations were tense. I thought I would only be there for a short period of time and then I could come back. No one expected the sudden blockade that cut off all travel routes. Even communication was prohibited, and the two sides of the strait were completely isolated. I was trapped there and couldn't even send letters home."

His eyes reddened as he spoke these words, and he spoke each one with great effort.

But Jiang Guier felt he was putting on an act, "Then why did you change your name?"

“There was nothing we could do. Back then, we were all left in Taiwan, longing for our return day and night, missing our homeland and families… I was assigned a mission to go to Hong Kong to complete it. I thought that once I finished the mission, I could go home, so I accepted the arrangement… Who would have thought that I still couldn’t leave in the end?” Wu Wenhao felt sad as he recalled this past event.

“I could only endure it little by little. Finally, fifteen years ago, cross-strait flights resumed. I almost immediately tried every means to come back. I didn’t expect that when I returned to my homeland, everything had changed. I… I’m sorry to your great-grandmother.” Wu Wenhao said with a sorrowful expression.

"You have indeed let down your great-grandmother and your maternal grandmother. You could say you have let down everyone in our family. It was only because my great-grandmother was foolish enough to stand by you all this time that I see you as a heartless and ungrateful man." Jiang Guier didn't give him any face at all. What kind of reason could make him not try to fight for her after he came back? I don't understand.

“You’re right. I’m sorry for your great-grandmother’s long and arduous wait for me. I’ve accepted all of your grandmother’s resentment towards me. I deserve it all. When I came back and found you, your grandmother didn’t recognize me. Perhaps in her memory, I’m still the same as when I left. She doesn’t remember me at all. And your grandmother is even more annoyed by my presence. She doesn’t allow me to appear in front of you. She wants me to stay far away. I was afraid that my presence would cause everyone pain, so… I haven’t said it yet. Gui’er, I’m sorry.”

Wu Wenhao explained why he hadn't revealed his identity for over a decade.

Jiang Guier chuckled lightly, "I won't comment on your elders' affairs. I have no right to make decisions for anyone. I'm only asking you now, do you want to see my great-grandmother?"

"I want to see her! I'll go to her old house in the countryside to see her in the next few days." Wu Wenhao said excitedly. He hadn't seen her for more than a month. Even just seeing her from afar used to comfort him. But recently he hadn't been able to find the time to go. It wasn't easy to find a suitable reason to go to the countryside. If his daughter found out, she would definitely make a scene.

Shen Huaizhou suddenly stopped Jiang Guier, who was about to speak, and stepped forward to ask, "Mr. Wu, there are reasons for what happened in the past, but now, I hope you have thought it through and whether you have the courage to face it."

What does that mean?

“Because Grandma doesn’t live in the countryside.” Jiang Guier instantly understood what Shen Huaizhou meant.

"Where is she? Your grandmother has hidden her again."

"At the hospital."

"What! Take me there immediately!" Wu Wenhao was so anxious that his face turned pale.

"Have you thought this through? My grandmother is here. Do you dare to face her?"

“I know I’m a heartless person in her heart. No matter how many barriers there are, I’ll let her hit me or scold me as she pleases. I must see your great-grandmother.”

Wu Wenhao answered firmly, but Jiang Guier hesitated and couldn't help but look at Shen Huaizhou.